


Mealtime Summary

by Treegona



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 21:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7331527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treegona/pseuds/Treegona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe talks to Finn between their meeting at the rebel base and the mission to rescue Ray.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mealtime Summary

**Author's Note:**

> My second entry into the great fic mimicry contest. This is the long version, so it exceeds the 1k limit. But in the grand scheme, I like the long version better and as such I think people should get to see this thing in it's proper form.

The meals soldiers eat are universal in quality, Finn thinks as he slides a spoon full of gruel into his mouth. Resistance food tastes gritty, like all the comers and goers and workers march dust and sand into the food. First order issue gruel is more sterile. It might pack more nutrients, but definitely less taste. Finn has yet to decide if this is a good or bad thing when a bleeping, warbling noise pulls him out of his own head.

BB-8 stands –sits- exists- a little to Finn’s front-left towards where the other resistance members are eating their gruel. Poe Dameron isn’t far behind the droid with a full tray of his own. 

“You mind if I join you?” The pilot asks. It’s a formality, Poe’s already moving to sit on one of the crates across from Finn before he can even respond. “Didn’t want to sit with the others?” he asks. Finn shrugs.

“They already have their friends. I’m new, I don’t fit in yet.” Finn says. “I may have game changing intel but I’m still an ex-Stormtrooper.” He’s slipping into a melancholy mood, thinking about the Order and how he’d fit in –or rather hadn’t fit in- there. 

Whatever mood Finn might be in, the warbling noises, high pitched trills and beeping that is BB-8’s speech interrupts him. Finn has no idea what the droid is saying. By the look in his face, Poe does. After a raised eyebrow from Finn, he translates. 

“It says ‘it’s a sad day when a Stormtrooper is more generous with intel than a droid who’s been with the resistance since it began.’ It’s been trying to get through to R2D2.” Poe explains. Finn’s skepticism must show because Poe laughs and then “Okay, it said a lot more than that, but I don’t have to translate heavy cursing for you to get that it’s frustrated.” To this Finn nods.

“Has it been with the resistance long? R2D2, I mean.” Finn asks. He is curious about what intel the R2 droid is that they need it back this badly, but history is a safer, more conversational topic. Less likely to get him tossed into a cell for spying.

“Oof” Poe responds. He’s not looking at Finn, exactly. He’s looking off into the middle distance, like the past lies somewhere behind Finn’s ear. “I think that one’s been with the resistance since there was a resistance. It helped find Luke Skywalker, bring Obi-Wan Kenobi back to the Jedi, recruit Han Solo and save the General. For all that it’s an ancient bucket of bolts, it’s an important part of the resistance.” Poe has to almost physically shake off the distant past to refocus on Finn.  
“But you found him, the Han Solo. You brought back one of the key members that brought the empire down back to the resistance. How’d you even find him?” Poe looks so genuinely curious that Finn feels a little embarrassed about how bad the story is. 

“We didn’t so much find him as he found us.” Finn explains “We had to –uuh- liberate a ship to get off Jakku. Han noticed us, overrode the controls. He pulled us onto this cargo ship and the rest is history.” Finn may be glossing over a few key details but he is not ready to talk about what happened on-board. He isn’t ready to talk about gangs and monsters and fearing for his life, isn’t ready to talk about how lucky he was with that bay door. If Poe sees how stressful this subject is, he doesn’t say anything. 

“Wait, was that the Millennium Falcon? You stole the Millennium Falcon?” Poe is obviously excited about the ship. That isn’t surprising, the Falcon is about as well-known as its inhabitants.

“Liberated.” Finn corrects “It wasn’t being used for much and was practically garbage till Rey fixed it.” At this BB-8, who Finn had forgotten about in its silence, begins a warbling tirade of noises and squeaks. Finn has no idea what it’s saying, but by the volume and general offended air, he can guess. 

“Hey. It was a bucket of bolts. And I have no idea how Rey got us out of there in it.” Finn doesn’t notice the look on Poe’s face until he speaks.

“BB-8 wasn’t disagreeing with you.” Poe says, looking like he really wants to laugh, but won’t. “That was more of a general… Dissatisfaction with the treatment of electronics of any kind on Jakku. Apparently this Rey girl almost sold it. For scraps of food.” The droid bleeps some more. Poe translates helpfully: “And after that it almost got stolen? Jakku sure is rough, between the sand, the heat, the drought and the people. ‘m glad we didn’t have to stick around.”

“It must have some redeeming qualities, why else would Rey not want to leave?” Finn wonders aloud.

“Why did she? Leave, I mean.”

“Probably had something to do with the TIE fighters shooting at us. They blew up a good part of a local town to get at us.” Finn thinks for a moment “And a ship. They shot the ship we wanted to take to bits. The Millennium Falcon was our second and last option.” Poe looks impressed.

“Did you outmaneuver a TIE fighter in a broken old ship?” he says “Falcon or no, that’s some serious flying.” But Finn shakes his head.

“She flew, I shot. Rey knows the terrain there better than the TIE pilots did. And” Finn corrects “there were three of them. At least. And I shot all of them, even though the aim for the blasters was way too sensitive and stopped working halfway through the fight. Because I’m just that good.” Finn boasts. So what if they nearly crashed and died more times than he would like to count. Rey got both of them out of the system safely, even if their journey after hadn’t gone as planned.

“But what about you?” Finn says “How’d you get off planet? I mean, you’re a great pilot and all, but Jakku was crawling with First Order soldiers. How’d you get back to the resistance?” Poe flushes a little at the praise.

“Nothing as cool as getting shot at and stealing a long-lost Resistance ship. I stowed away on a freight ship headed out of the system. I managed to evade the Stormtroopers looking for hitchhikers –which was pretty awesome- and later stole a call back here. My team picked me up from a planet close to where you were when the call came in that BB-8 had been found. The rest, as you’ve said, is ass-kicking history.”

They both take a moment to remember the fight. Finn wonders about the old lady, she’d been kind to him and now her bar was in ruins. The very real possibility that she die with her business scares Finn somewhat.

“I umm…” Poe begins “I wanted to thank you.” The pilot looks a little uncomfortable. “If not for you…” he sighs. “If not for you I probably wouldn’t have made it. And maybe they would’ve gotten to BB-8 and the map. Then they would’ve found Skywalker. So I just… Thank you. For saving me.”  
Finn doesn’t quite know what to do with this situation. Stormtroopers, as a rule, didn’t get emotional. But some part of him knows, remembers, that physical contact can be comforting. So Finn reaches over and gives Poe, his first real friend, a hug. 

It doesn’t take long for Poe to return the hug, nor does it take him long to recompose himself and pull away. But before he does, he gives Finn one last squeeze. As if to reaffirm that he appreciates the hug, both as a gesture and for the contact.

“I should probably go get ready.” He says. Both their meals are long gone and people are starting to get back to work. Poe looks a bit embarrassed so Finn lets him have the out. Not because Finn himself is a bit shaken, no way. 

“Yea, we’ve both got a long trip later, haven’t we.”

BB-8, who had apparently rolled away earlier in the conversation, comes back now and trills something at Poe, who flushes, looks at Finn, looks away and mutters something that sounds an awful lot like shut-up to the droid. If BB-8 had facial expressions Finn might’ve said it looked almost equal parts fond, exasperated and smug. But as it is he just watches, confused, as Poe and BB-8 walk and roll off to do that which needs doing. And not for the first, or last, time Finn thinks that he should really learn to speak droid.


End file.
